Food

I tried two new recipes yesterday; both turned out yummy.

Southwestern Risotto:

Gingered Blueberry Shortcake:

We’re all Nazis now

The Holocaust was such an enormous, almost incomprehensible, evil, that comparisons to other events are impossible. To do so devalues the lives of the 6 million souls who died during the Holocaust.

To make a reasonable comparison, the other event would have to involve the deaths of millions of people. Perhaps the Khmer Rouge (2 million dead) could be compared to the Nazi regime. The Soviet regime under Stalin might have equal standing, as he oversaw the deaths of somewhere between 10 million and 50 million Soviets during collectivization, “purges”, and forced labor.

So let’s talk about George Bush. By what stretch of anybody’s imagination could he be compared to Hitler? EVEN IF (big if) you thought we were trading blood for oil in the Iraq war, how could Bush be similar to the evil dictator who tried to eradicate a whole race of people? It devalues the lives of the 6 million souls whom Hitler killed to compare George Bush to Hitler.

Let’s talk about the internment of Japanese Americans during WWII. This was a very sad event, and many people lost their rights, their livelihoods, and their property. But I’m not aware of any systematic killings, forced labor, cruel medical experiments, starvation, etc. In a travel article in the most recent Westways (a California Auto Club publication), the author compares visiting a decrepit Japanese internment camp in California to visiting Dachau. How can this be? Are there crematories at this internment camp? I’ve been to Dachau and can attest that just standing on the grounds was a stomach-turning experience. It devalues the lives of the 6 million souls who died in concentration camps to compare internment camps in America to Dachau.

The latest comparison is from our own president. Here’s a quote from Obama’s speech at Buchenwald today: “It’s also important for us, I think, to remember that the perpetrators of such evil were human, as well, and that we have to guard against cruelty in ourselves.”

Really? Do we really need our president to tell all the citizens of the world, “Nazis were people just like me and you. Watch out that you don’t commit genocide!”

Psalm 53:3 says “there is no one who does good, not even one.” (NIV). So from a theological standpoint, Obama is correct. But the club of Dictators-who-killed-millions is a very exclusive one, with few members. To compare each of the billions of people living on this planet with the Nazi regime is, again, to devalue the lives of the 6 million souls whom the Nazis killed.

These comparisons sadden me. I don’t think people who make them, in general, are trying to minimize the murder of millions of Jews. It’s laziness. “I think Bush is evil. Hitler was evil. I’ll say Bush is like Hitler!” Or, “This old internment camp gives me the creeps. Dachau gave me the creeps. I’ll say this camp is like Dachau!” Or, “‘All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.’ The Nazis sinned. I’ll say the Nazis were people just like you and me!”

I wish Obama would spend more time talking about combating evil in the world than minimizing it.

Happy Mother’s Day!

I made you a cupcake for Mother’s Day. And Shannon took pictures:

If you want the recipe (they were a lot of trouble, you probably don’t), you can find it on Chockylit’s Cupcake blog. They are German Chocolate Cupcakes with Milk Chocolate Glaze. I made the Magnolia recipe which she described in comment 6.

Bad dog!

After Bill stopped laughing and photographing this event, he did finally close up the bag and put it in the pantry.

Christ is Risen

He is risen indeed.

Things I worry about

Let’s say an onion costs between 10 and 25 cents, depending on if I got a screamin’ good deal on it.

Let’s say I use 3/4 of said onion and 1/4 of the onion is left over. Its value is between 2 and 6 cents.

Do I use 2 cents worth of saran wrap to save the onion, thus reducing or even eliminating the thrift involved in this “savings”? Or do I toss it straight in the trash?

(note: saving it in a reusable container is not a 3rd option. I do package most items in glass or plastic containers, but don’t really want to put the onion in a permeable container, and a portion of onion shoved into a glass canning jar just seems weird…not that this whole post isn’t weird…)

What say you?

I was sure this was a typo

A quote from Sunday’s UK Guardian, about Obama’s trip to London:

“With an entourage of 500 staff, an armour-plated limousine and a fleet of decoy helicopters, America’s new president will arrive for his first visit to Britain amid huge razzmatazz on Tuesday for the G20 summit…”

I thought 500 must be a typo, but if you read the complete article, you’ll see that it isn’t. 500 staff on this one trip?? And we wonder why our country is going bankrupt.

Happy St. Patrick’s Day!

Every year I say I’m going to make shamrock cookies. And every year, I don’t have a shamrock cookie cutter.

Guess what I bought at Michael’s last week? Hint: The kids used it today to make our favorite sugar cookies.

Incognito

My sister Kristin tells a funny story about a woman she used to work with who didn’t know the difference between “incognito” and “incommunicado”. When somebody was out of the office and couldn’t be reached, she’d say they were incognito.

I am trying to switch cell phones, and in the process I have gone incognito. My old cell phone has 8 minutes or 10 text messages left on it, or any combination thereof. I bought a new cell phone on Saturday and the number still has not transferred over (this may take up to 10 business days…). So I carry the old cell phone with me for an emergency requiring 8 minutes of talk time or less…waiting to get the “no signal” message so I can start using the new cell phone.

Good news for those of you who call me on my cell phone and talk really fast so as not to waste my $.18/minute: my new phone is $.11/minute.

Happy Feet

Bill got to go to Cotillion with Shannon last week for the father/daughter dances. Next year, I get to go, too…since Will will be in Cotillion. He can’t wait.